Port closure release assembly



Dec. 21, 1965 w. F. EMIGH ETAL PORT CLOSURE RELEASE ASSEMBLY Filed March 12, 1962 INVENTOR. WILLARD F. EMIGH CHARLES L. D'OOGE JOH PO LACKOWYJ Q A TTOR/VE United States Patent ()fifice 3,224,628 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 3,224,628 PORT CLOSURE RELEASE ASSEMBLY Willard F. Emigh, North Highland, Charles L. DOoge,

Citrus Heights, and John Polackowyj, Sacramento,

Caiifl, assignors to Aerojet-General Corporation,

Azusa, Calif., a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 180,925 3 Claims. (Cl. 22047) This invention relates generally to a port closure release assembly and specifically to a quick-acting port closure release assembly.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a means for releasing high pressure from a port.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a reverse-acting snap ring embodying a direct acting force to collapse it. This force can break free a frozen snap ring condition and accelerate ejection, thus releasing high pressure from a port almost instantaneously.

In its principal aspect, the present invention comprises a cover plate held in the port opening by a spring attached to a port closure plate which is positioned in the port and secured thereto by a reverse-acting snap ring seated in a groove in the inner periphery of the port. The reverse-acting snap ring has provisions for holding an explosive bolt which serves the dual function of expanding the snap ring into the groove and, when detonated, causing the snap ring to rapidly contract, thus permitting the closure and cover plate to be forced out of the port by high pressure behind the closure plate.

These and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following more detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side elevation of the port closure assembly as taken on line 1 1 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional top elevation of the same port closure assembly, taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is an exploded assembly view of the invention as depicted in FIGURES 1 and 2.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, which is an elevation view taken along line 11 of FIGURE 2, the numeral 1 indicates a port having its open end 2 closed by a cover plate 3 seated on the port. Cover plate 3 is retained on the port 1 by a helical tension spring 4 attached at one end to the cover plate 3 by a threaded spring retainer 5 and having its other end hooked through an eye 6 on the top of a closure plate 7. The closure plate 7 is held in place in the port 1 by a reverse-acting snap ring 8 that is expanded into an annular groove 9 in the inner periphery of the port 1. The closure plate 7 is sealed by a resilient O-type ring pressure seal 10 fitted to a groove 11 cut in its outer periphery.

The reverse acting snap ring 8 is a split ring having portions near its ends overlapped and the ends bent away from the ring to provide opposed ears 12 and 13.

It can be seen that this snap ring acts in reverse to conventional snap rings in that the spreading apart of cars 12 and 13 at the ends of the split ring causes the ring to contract rather than expand.

Each of the ears 12 and 13 is provided with a screwthreaded opening 14 for receiving an explosive bolt 16. As seen in FIGURE 2, the explosive bolt 16 has an explosive charge and detonator 17 which must be located between the ears 12 and 13 when the snap ring 8 is expanded into groove 9. The detonator and charge 17 may be actuated through the wires shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 by any suitable means, which is not shown and forms no part of this invention.

In order to secure the closure plate 7 in port 1 against pressure below the plate the reverse-acting snapring 8 is placed adjacent annular groove 9 and the explosive bolt 16 is turned to draw retaining ears 12 and 13 toward each other. As explained hereinabove, drawing the ears together causes the snap ring 8 to expand into groove 11 thereby retaining the closure plate 7 in the port.

The lower end of coil spring 4 is hooked into eye 6 of the closure plate 7. The cover plate 3 is then seated on the open end 2 of the port 1 and is retained thereon by spring 4 which is under tension. The cover plate serves to protect the explosive bolt and actuating means therefor, not shown, from outside elements.

When the detonator and charge 17 in the explosive bolt 16 is actuated, the propelling force of the explosive forces ears 12 and 13 apart, thus contracting the snap ring 8. This leaves the snap ring 8 and closure plate 7 free for axial movement in the port 1 so that these elements together with the cover plate 3 may be ejected from the port 1 by high pressure behind closure plate 7. It can be seen that this arrangement permits the high pressure to be released almost instantaneously with the 'detonation of the explosive bolt 16, which bolt also serves the purpose of expanding the snap ring 8 into grooove 9 when receiving the closure plate 7 in the port 1.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the claims.

We claim:

1. A port closure release assembly comprising a port, an annular groove in the inner periphery of said port, a closure plate in said port at one side of said annular groove, a snap ring lying in said annular groove and having overlapping portions near the ends of said ring, the ends being bent away from said ring to provide a pair of cars, and an explosive bolt threaded into said ears for drawing said ears together to expand the ring into a tight engagement relation with the annular groove;

said bolt and ears being so mutually related that on detonation the explosive force urges the ears away from one another contracting the snap ring to release the engagement thereof within the groove.

2. A port closure release assembly comprising a port, a cover plate closing the open end of said port, a closure plate in said port spaced from said cover plate, an annular groove in the inner periphery of said port between said closure plate and said cover plate, a snap ring positioned adjacent said groove, an explosive bolt in said port, said snap ring including means associated with said explosive bolt for expanding said snap ring into said annular groove in which condition the snap ring is in bearing contact with the closure plate preventing displacement of the same through the open end of the port, said means being dissociable from said bolt thereby permitting contraction of said snap ring for release from said annular groove upon detonation of said explosive bolt, and means connected to said cover plate and said closure plate for retaining the cover plate on the open end of said port.

3. A port closure release assembly comprising an open ended port, a cover plate closing the open end of the port, a closure plate in the port spaced from the cover plate, a groove on an inner surface of the port between the closure plate and the cover plate, a snap ring for expansion into engaging relation with the groove in which condition it restrains the closure plate from translation in a direction towards the cover plate, explosive retaining means associated with the snap ring for retaining the ring in an expanded condition, and means interconnecting the cover plate and closure plate for resiliently urging the plates toward one another whereby on detonation of the explosive retaining means the snap ring is removed from retaining condition with the closure plate and the resiliently urging means moves the closure plate past the groove and simultaneously effects release of the cover plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,140,535 5/1915 Schroeder 292 256.61 2,079,164 5/1937 Glab 137-69 2,809,584 10/1957 Smith 102-49 41 2,949,822 8/1960 MLISSGI 2,959,129 11/1960 Warren 3,109,216 11/1963 Brown OTHER REFERENCES Explosive Actuated Valves (Connell) 5501-XV, Conax Corp., copy in Div. 39).

ISADOR WEIL, Primary Examiner.

10 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Examiner.

(Catalog 

1. A PORT CLOSURE RELEASE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PORT, AN ANNULAR GROOVE IN THE INNER PERIPHERY OF SAID PORT, A CLOSURE PLATE IN SAID PORT AT ONE SIDE OF SAID ANNULAR GROOVE, A SNAP RING LYING IN SAID ANNULAR GROOVE AND HAVING OVERLAPPING PORTIONS NEAR THE ENDS OF SAID RING, THE ENDS BEING BENT AWAY FROM SAID RING TO PROVIDE A PAIR OF EARS, AND AN EXPLOSIVE BOLT THREADED INTO SAID EARS FOR DRAWING SAID EARS TOGETHER TO EXPAND THE RING INTO A TIGHT ENGAGEMENT RELATION WITH THE ANNULAR GROOVE; SAID BOLT AND EARS BEING SO MUTUALLY RELATED THAT ON DETONATION THE EXPLOSIVE FORCE URGES THE EARS AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER CONTRACTING THE SNAP RING TO RELEASE THE ENGAGEMENT THEREOF WITHIN THE GROOVE. 